The overriding feeling as the Reds fans left the Pirelli Stadium on Sunday was frustration.

A similar Stanley team had put Fleetwood to the sword weeks earlier with clinical finishing and strong defending, but Sunday was a day when things just didn’t drop for the Reds.

After ex-Red Billy Kee had scored a 10th minute opener for Burton, one Brewers fan shouted ‘get another, these are there for the taking’.

But after Stanley weathered a mini-storm, in which Kee scored and Chris Palmer hit the bar, they came back, dominating possession.

However, they couldn’t turn that possession into goals and while there was neat build-up play and decent balls into the box, it just didn’t fall for the Reds as they slipped to their second successive league loss.

"It’s a mixture of disappointment and frustration," admitted manager Richardson.

"We had plenty of possession but you only win games by putting the ball in the back of the net and Burton did what matters.

"I did feel we were knocking on the door and it was only a matter of time, but the game got scrappy at the end as we chased it and, while I can’t fault our energy and work-rate, some of the quality and decisions weren’t great. It is something we have to work on.

"There weren’t many bad performances by us but then there were not many who could hold their hands up and say they had the best performance on the pitch.

"What I want, and what I demand, is that seven or eight of the lads are saying they were the best on the pitch and that’s how you win games. Saying that, I would be more concerned if we weren’t creating chances and controlling games for long periods but it’s clear what we have to do.

"We have to cut out mistakes in the final third and be more clinical in the other third. If we do that we will be okay."

The Burton game was switched to Sunday on police advice with neighbours Derby facing Leeds at Pride Park the previous day.

The Reds have a decent record at the Pirelli Stadium but there are high hopes in those parts that Gary Rowett’s side will be in the play-off places in May.

The sight of ex-England striker James Beattie in the Reds starting XI might give teams something to think about, but the 34-year-old suffered an injury in the warm-up on Saturday, to be replaced by Padraig Amond at the last minute.

The setback didn’t stop the Reds opening well though, with Lee Molyneux whipping the ball across the goal and Amond drawing the keeper off his line but Stanley were unable to capitalise.

Then came the decisive goal on 10 minutes. Jacques Maghoma’s left-wing cross deflected in the air, Kee jumped and knocked the ball down to Calvin Zola who was quick to put Kee through and the former Stanley man finished well.

Once Burton had scored, they put men behind the ball with Zander Diamond outstanding at the back. Palmer’s cross hit the woodwork just after their opener with Stanley rocking – but Burton couldn’t get a second in this spell, thanks to the Reds defence with Craig Lindfield and Peter Murphy both making timely tackles.

The game evened out with Burton defending deep and Stanley starting to pass the ball around but they were unable to make a chance count.

In fact, the nearest the Reds came was in the early stages of the second half, from a most unlikely source, when Paul Rachubka’s massive goalkick almost caught out his opposite number Dean Lyness who had to tip the ball over his goal.

Luke Joyce forced a save from the Burton keeper while the game got increasingly stretched with Rachubka scrambling away a Zola overhead kick.

In the last frantic minutes, Rommy Boco had a couple of efforts off-target but it was Burton who closed the gap on the play-off spots with Accrington firmly locked in mid-table.

"In this league, results have been hit-and-miss for most teams and that’s why there are a great number of teams hanging around each other," added Richardson.

"Whichever team can put a consistent run together and have that bit of luck will move up quickly and we want to do that and kick on."